Politics tears them apart, not who they are
As the United States marks two and a half centuries of existence, a new CBS News poll finds its citizens in a characteristically American posture: proud of the distance traveled, yet uneasy about the road ahead. Most Americans believe their nation has honored its founding promises, but nearly half sense that the country's greatest chapters belong to the past — a doubt rooted less in cultural fracture than in the fading accessibility of the American Dream and the corrosive weight of political division. At 250, the republic endures as both an achievement and an open question.
- The American Dream — that foundational compact between effort and reward — is now doubted by half the population, with most believing opportunity has quietly become the inheritance of the privileged rather than the promise of the many.
- Political division has displaced cultural and racial difference as the force Americans most fear will break the nation, a diagnosis shared across party lines even as those same parties agree on little else.
- Patriotism persists but has thinned: the percentage of Americans calling themselves very patriotic has fallen to historic lows, and Black Americans — a large majority of whom claim patriotism — express pride in the nation's history with notably more ambivalence.
- Looking toward America at 300, younger generations carry more hope than their elders, yet confidence in democracy's durability and the nation's moral standing trails far behind confidence in its military might.
- The poll captures a republic at threshold — neither in collapse nor in confident ascent, but suspended between the story it has told about itself and the story it is still deciding whether to finish.
Two hundred fifty years in, most Americans still believe their country has largely honored what it set out to be. A CBS News poll conducted in late June 2026 found substantial majorities crediting the nation with realizing its founding ideals — at least to a meaningful degree. Pride in the principles of the founding documents remains genuine. And yet the same survey reveals a nation shadowed by doubt, with nearly half suspecting that America's finest chapters are already behind it.
The fault line runs through the American Dream. Only half of Americans express even modest confidence that hard work and talent can still lift anyone up. Most believe opportunity has narrowed into the possession of a privileged few — and those who feel this way are precisely the people most likely to say the country's best days have passed, and most likely to believe democracy itself is in danger. Economic anxiety and political pessimism, the data suggest, are not separate concerns but the same wound.
When asked what threatens the next fifty years, Americans name political division and the cost of living above all else. Political division, notably, ranks higher than cultural or racial difference as the force most likely to fracture the country — a view held across party lines, even among people who agree on almost nothing else.
Patriotism and pride tell a layered story. Most Americans call themselves at least somewhat patriotic, though the share claiming deep patriotism has fallen to historic lows. Republicans are more sweeping in their national pride, with majorities calling America's founding achievement great rather than merely partial. Black Americans present a distinct portrait: broadly patriotic, yet just over half express pride when reflecting on the full sweep of two and a half centuries.
Looking ahead, cautious optimism edges out pessimism — younger Americans especially lean toward hope. But confidence is uneven: faith in military strength outpaces faith in democratic durability or moral standing, and those who already see democracy as threatened today hold little expectation that it will recover. The poll, surveying 2,150 adults with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 points, finds a nation that knows what it built, worries about what it is becoming, and has not yet decided whether renewal is possible.
Two hundred fifty years into its existence, America remains, in the eyes of most of its citizens, a nation that has largely lived up to what it set out to be. A CBS News poll conducted in late June found that a substantial majority of Americans believe their country has succeeded in realizing its founding ideals—some say a great deal, others say at least a fair amount. The country that gave the world the light bulb and the internet still draws pride from the principles enshrined in its founding documents. Yet this same poll reveals a nation wrestling with doubt about its trajectory, one where nearly half the population suspects that the best chapters of the American story have already been written.
The tension runs through nearly every finding. Americans say they get along with one another just fine; it is politics, they believe, that tears them apart. They embrace the idea of a diverse nation with many different cultures and values. They share a common understanding of what life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness ought to mean. But when asked about the American Dream—that foundational promise that hard work and talent can lift anyone up—only half express even modest confidence that it remains within reach. Most believe that opportunity has become the province of a privileged few, and this belief carries weight. Those who see the Dream as unattainable are the most likely to say America's best days lie behind it. They are also the most likely to believe that democracy itself is under threat.
The connection between economic anxiety and political pessimism runs deep in the data. When Americans look at the next fifty years, they name two challenges above all others: political division and the cost of living. Political division, in particular, looms larger than cultural or racial differences as the force most likely to fracture the nation. This is a view held across party lines—Democrats, Republicans, and independents all agree on this diagnosis, even as they disagree on nearly everything else.
Patriotism and pride tell a more complicated story. Most Americans describe themselves as at least somewhat patriotic, though the percentage claiming to be very patriotic has declined to historic lows in recent years, a far cry from the surge that followed the attacks of September 11, 2001. Pride in the nation's history follows a similar pattern: majorities across age, gender, and racial groups express at least some pride, with older Americans and men particularly likely to do so. Republicans stand apart, more sweeping in their praise—a majority say the nation has succeeded a great deal, not merely somewhat, in achieving its ideals, and they are more likely than Democrats or independents to call America the single greatest country in the world rather than merely one of the greatest. Yet even among Republicans, the view is not uniformly triumphant. Black Americans present a notable case: while a large majority call themselves patriotic, just over half express at least some pride when reflecting on two and a half centuries of American history.
When the conversation turns to the next fifty years and America at three hundred, the mood shifts toward cautious optimism. More people expect things to improve than to worsen. Younger Americans, in particular, feel more positive about the nation's future than their elders do. Yet this optimism comes with reservations. While many believe American military power will grow stronger, fewer are confident about the durability of democracy or economic strength. Even fewer believe the nation's moral standing will hold firm. Those who already see democracy as threatened today are especially doubtful that it will strengthen in the decades ahead.
The poll, conducted between June 23 and 26, 2026, surveyed 2,150 nationally representative adults with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points. It captures a nation at a threshold—proud of what it has built, anxious about what it is becoming, and uncertain whether the machinery of democracy and opportunity that once seemed to define it can be restored or renewed.
Citações Notáveis
Most Americans think they generally get along, and it's politics that drives them apart—a view shared by a majority of Democrats, Republicans and independents alike.— CBS News poll findings
Those who think only a few have a chance to get ahead in today's society think U.S. democracy is under threat.— CBS News poll findings
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
What strikes you most about Americans saying they get along fine but that politics tears them apart?
It suggests people don't see their neighbors as the problem. They see the system—the way power is organized, the way incentives work. That's actually a hopeful diagnosis in a way, because systems can be changed. But it also means the fracture runs deep, because it's structural, not just personal.
Why does the American Dream matter so much to how people feel about the country's future?
Because the Dream was always the promise that made everything else bearable. You could tolerate inequality if you believed your kids might escape it. You could accept hardship if you thought it was temporary. Once people stop believing that—once they think the game is rigged—they start questioning whether the whole project is worth defending.
The data shows Black Americans are patriotic but less proud of the history. What's the difference?
Patriotism is about loving the country as it is now, or could be. Pride in history requires looking back and feeling good about what you see. Those are two different things. You can love your home and still acknowledge that parts of its past were built on your family's suffering.
Why are younger people more optimistic about fifty years from now?
They haven't yet lived through the disappointments that older people have. They're also the ones who will have to live with whatever comes next, so maybe there's a kind of necessary hope built in. Or maybe they just haven't yet internalized the idea that things don't get better.
If people think democracy is threatened, why do they still expect things to improve?
Because they're separating the question. They can believe democracy is fragile and still hope that Americans will choose to fix it. It's not passive optimism—it's conditional. Things get better if we do the work. If we don't, they won't.